I didn't have anything specifically called a mock transfer, tho i did have a saline sono a few weeks before IVF. But I don't know how they would even do real transfer without ultrasound!! How would he or she know the best place to drop the embies? I would definitely find out the reasoning behind the lack of both. They could have good reasons, like no difference in success rates or something.

my first 3 cycles were done without ultra sound guided technique. I had a saline sonl forf the first 2 cycles were the dr mapped out how far the embies should be out in. My 3 rd cycle the dr did nothing but go by his notes in my records. I had 3 VERY bad transfers in which the dr actually had gto use a tenaculum. I did get pregnant with the first 2 cycles and miscarried which had nothing to do with the re or the way the transfer took place. After my 3rd failed cycle which happened to be a fresh donor cycle we looked into changing dr's. New RE mapped out where to place the embies with the saline sone ( where they also found polyps which old RE should have found but did not) and the measurements he got were a bit off from old RE. In addition, they did use ultra sound guidance for the transfer. I was told that the old RE should have never uses anything that would add stress to my cervix during a transfer either. Transfer with new RE took about 3 mins and was painless. We thought that the best chance we could get would be by using the best techniques available to us. Just something that you may want to think about.

I was curious about this, too, so I am glad you posted. One other question for previous IVF ladies...were the mock embryo transfer or saline sono painful? I have mine tomorrow and wondered if I should take some meds beforehand. I googled, and some women say they are SUPER painful, and some say they are no big deal. What was your experience?

My RE did both... I think I understand how you could do it without the ultrasound guidance if you do a mock transfer/saline sono for measurements, but I don't understand how you can get away without doing either. On the day of my transfer, RE did a practice transfer then got the embies and did the real one... then the nurse showed us the freeze frame from the u/s where the liquid with the embies inside were dumped in my uterus - kinda cool to see. The whole process was pretty quick - less than 5 minutes.

I guess the advantage to no u/s guidance is not having to have a full bladder for transfer... my RE said the full bladder was so he could better see my uterus on the screen. Having a full bladder while lying on the stretcher with my feel slightly above my head for 30 minutes was... fun. Or not!

Thanks for all the replies. They help! I appreciate it! Goodness knows I am going crazy right now trying to figure all this out.

I don't know if he would do a saline sono prior to the transfer. That wasn't specifically mentioned, and I didn't know to ask about it. I was talking to the office coordinator today, asking all my follow-up questions (they'd come to me over the weekend after I had my consult on Friday). She was the one that told me he used neither u/s guidance during transfer nor mock transfer. I could do w/o the mock transfer, but I feel like why not use the u/s if it's a more modern approach? The research I've seen looks like it does help pregnancy chances...and he has a kick-ass ultrasound machine that gave me the best look at my follicles the other day, in 3D, so I don't know why he wouldn't want to use it. He's pretty famous. I wonder if he's just that good, or just over-confident?!

We didn't do mock but our IVF was u/s guided. My RE had a nurse who came from a clinic where the RE had just retired. He had done many ET's without u/s guidance and they found they had better results by doing the u/s.

jessek-have you had an HSG or saline sono at all? there is a law requiring a updated test withini a year of any treatments. I only say this as my re did not do one and my donor cycle failed-a month later I found out through the saline sono that I had polyps and most lilley this is why the cycle failed.

I'm not sure what an saline-sono is, but I think so. I had a lap, hsg and hysteroscopy back in March (a different doctor), and then just a few weeks ago I had another hysteroscopy in preparation for the IVF and my current R.E. said they were filling the uterus with water to get a good look (I assume that was the saline?). The first hysteroscopy they used gas. During both procedures - the one last March and this one - my uterus and tubes were all clear. Thank you for the heads up, though! I think I am covered on that front, but this is all very much to handle, that's for sure!

At any rate, I'm not going with the R.E. who doesn't do the ultrasound-guided transfers. I just haven't read anything bad about the procedure at all (as far as success goes, not the total pain of a full bladder), and most the info out there looks like it improves pg. rates. You guys wouldn't believe how famous, etc., this R.E. is, not to be doing this! It's definitely not a sketchy place! Makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing. But I just can't get comfortable with it. So I'm going back to SIRM, but I'm using a different doctor than I had there -- who was the whole reason I had gone to another R.E. for a second opinion in the first place!

Jesse-Just reading through everyone's posts and I think you are making the right decision. I didnt do mock transfers with either of my IVF cycles, but the ultrasound guiding during transfer seems like it is more important. I mean, if the technology is available to help the RE see that they're putting the embies in an ideal spot during transfer, why not take advantage of it right? Good luck with your cycle!!